It’s tough to “chance” qualified applicants for schools like Columbia, even without the wild card of the art/portfolio piece. They absolutely do accept applicants with profiles like yours. They also reject applicants with profiles like yours. It can go either way. Then there’s the question of your art supplement/portfolio and how that will move the needle. It’s hard to say. Certainly possible.
You have no west coast schools on your list, so maybe that region isn’t of interest, but your profile made me think of the Claremont Colleges. Not only are the Environmental Analysis majors (within which Environmental Science is one possible track) and the studio art and art history majors all excellent, but there are a surprising number of classes that blend art and design with environmental studies/science. These range from drawing classes based in Pitzer’s nature preserve, to the Design for Environmental Behavior Change based in The Hive, to design classes taught by landscape architects, focusing on the intersection of function and aesthetics in public spaces. My Scripps student did the design-focused track in Pomona’s Enviro Analysis department as their primary major, a secondary major in a foreign language, and would have completed a studio art minor, had it not been for the pandemic. (The focus and methodology of their planned art classes changed, because of “Zoom school” in ways that weren’t appealing, so they let the minor go… but it was looking like a great plan up ‘til that point - their on-campus art classes were excellent.) Design Activism at Claremont McKenna was a favorite class too, coded as a History class but taught by one of the profs who runs the EnviroLab Asia program. Students cross-register freely and have access to resources across the consortium. Not sure if you’re looking to blend art and enviro science, or if they’re just two separate interests, but either way, the opportunities at the 5C’s are fantastic. Great in terms of LGBTQ+ affirmation/advocacy as well. Pomona, Pitzer, and Scripps (if you self-identify as female) would be the most obvious choices; Pomona has the most generous aid (and is need-blind) but is the toughest admit. Pomona also has its own art museum. Scripps also has an Art Conservation major if that’s of any interest. (Lots of art history included, but the science side is more heavily chemistry than enviro science.) Anyway, perhaps all moot since it doesn’t seem to be your target area geographically, but worth a look if you’d consider flexing on that.
Are you interested in Cornell’s Design & Environmental Analysis major in the Human Ecology school, or are you applying to the BFA Studio Art program in Arts & Sciences, or…?
Good luck; I hope you’ll update us on how your process goes!